Baseball game



May Z1, 1929. CHESTER A 1,713,643

BASEBALIL GAME Filed April '7, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet A TTORNEYS.

May 21, 1929. FR. cHEsTEh BASEBALL GAME Filed April 7, 1927 31:118-

3 Sheets-Sheet IN V EN TOR.

2 i I ATTOfRNfiiS.

Patented May 21, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK R. CHESTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO CHESTERFIELD CONTROL 7COMPANY, OF DOVER, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

BASEBALL GAME.

Application filed April 7, 1927. Serial No. 181,681.

It is a further object of the invention to.

construct a device of this character which preferably will be of thebaseball type, and in which the plays of the actual game, to thegreatest extent, may be duplicated with fidelity.

Another object of the invention is that of providing a game convenientlyof the type mentioned in the preceding paragraph the mechanism of whichmay be actuated bv' two operators, one having control of the team whichis at bat-,and the other having control of the team which is opposingthe first team.

Still another object is that of providing a device of this type theparts of which will be relatively few in number and rugged inconstruction, the entire device being readily assembled to provide amechanism which may be subjected to hard usage over long periods of timewith freedom from mechanical difiiculty, and from the operation of whicha great amount of pleasure will be derived. e

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and in part willappear here-' inafter.

lVith these and further objects in mind, the invention accordinglycomprises the features of construction,combination of elements andarrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the constructionhereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will beindicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding ofthe nature and objects of the inventionreference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing, in which: 1 I

Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of game embodying the improvedconstruction of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional sideview thereof;

Fig. 3 is sectional plan view,

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken from the rear of the plane ofFig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view of a detail of themechanism as shown indFig.;4 and as viewed from the reverse si e;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of the missile-impellingmember;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional plan view taken along the lines 7-'7and in the direction of the arrows of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Figl, but-showing a slightly different formof mechanism from that used in the former'figure; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional side view of the mechanism of Fig. 8. Y

In these views the numeral 5 indicates the deck of the machine, which isformed with an opening below which is movably mounted a plate 6. Theface of the deck is arranged T to simulate the appearance of a baseballfield.

and the deck is formed with a slot 7 laid out to correspond to the baselines of a diamond.

At this time it will, be observed that the deck plate portionspreferably are mounted within a cabinet embracing a base 8 and sidewalls 9 and that the surface of the entire deck plate and deck properpreferably are inclined toward a common point, as'has been shown inFigs. 2 and 4. Likewise, it will be noted that the baseof the cabinet,or the surface of a member 10 (indicated in dotted lines) positionedabove the same. is inclined toward a common point so that a missile uponthe surface will gravitate to this point, at which there is arranged amissile-receiving and elevating mechanism, indicated diagrammatically at11, and by means of which a missile may be transferred from the surface10 to the upper surface of the deck upon which it will move of its owninitative until it reaches a position of rest at the most depressedportion of the deck, in the present instance, at a position een trallywithinthe diamond and at a location approximating that of the pitchersbox. At. this most depressed point the deck is formed with. a slot 12through which an arm 13 extends, this arm acting as amissile-impellingmember and being directedto act toward a bat 14conveniently including, as

in Fig. 1, a heart-shaped body.

The slot 7 serves as a track for an element 15 preferably simulating inappearance a figure of a runner, and this figure is moved in a mannerherelnafter described to traverse the entire length of the slotbeginning ,With the position of home plate and returning to suchposition. It will be noted that the deck plate is formed withmissile-receiving'portions, in the present instance openings 16corresponding in number and location to theposition of field players,and an opening is provided in the infield portion and approximating thelocationof the pitcher, this opening being closed by a pivotally-con-"nected trap-doorlT.

ably equidistant between the bases and is disposed wholly below thedeck. Secured to the collar 23 and driven by the wormwheel is a disk 24having cam-portions 25 in its periphery and located 90 apart. Aspring-pressed rod 26 isslidably mounted on the under face of the plate6 and is provided with a roller 27 at its inner end which bears againstthe periphery of the disk 24, the spring urging this roller to aposition at which it rests within the base of the depressions orcam-portions 25 when the latter are in line therewith. The rod 26carries, for

example bars 28 and 29 and a plate 29,

which underlie the openings 16 when the rod 26 is 1n the position shownin Fig. 3, but, upon the rod being retracted by engagement of the roller27 with the outermost.

peripheral portions of the disk 6, these openings will be uncovered sothat a missile may drop therethrough onto the surface 10.

At this time it will be noted that the collar 23 is mounted upon asleeve 30, which is formed with slots adjacent its upper and lower endsand within which there is disposed a second sleeve 31, and that, inturn, within the latter there are disposed pushrodsin the presentinstance, in the nature of split sleeves 32 and 33. The rod 34 has oneof its ends secured to the bar 26, its opposite end beingattached to thelower arm of a bell-crank lever 35, the second arm of which has apin-and-slot connection with the sleeve 32. This structure has beenindicated in dotted lines in Figure 3 and a substantial duplicatethereof is shown in full lines at 67, 68 and 69 in Figure 2, and whichlatter structure will be hereinafter more fully described. As shown inFig. 5, the upper end of this push-rod or sleeve has connection with thepivot-ally-mounted trapdoor 17 so that, as the bar 26' is movedrearwardly to uncover'the several openings of the deck, the rod 34likewise will move, rocking the bell-cranklever 35, moving the sleeve 32downwardly, thus moving the trapdoor 17.

In line with one of the depressions or cam-portions 25 of the disk andsecured to the body 24 of the latter is a. bracket 36, upon which a post37 is slidably mounted, this post mounting the figure 15. As aconsequence,it will be-understood that with the figure of the runneradjacent any of the bases all openings of the infield and out field willbe covered against the passage of a missile therethrough, while, if therunner is away from any one of such bases, these openings will beuncovered, for the reason that the bracket and figure carried therebyare so disposed with respect to the cam-portions 25 of the disk that asthe figure 15 reaches a position of safety, i. e., adjacent each base,thebar 26 is projected to cover these openings. I

As shown, the shaft 18 is split, the parts thereof being coupled by afriction clutch 38, so that while movement of the hand wheel will turnthe shaft,the parts to be driven thereby may not be injured, for thereason that if the mechanism should jam a continued turning of the handwheel will result merely in the clutchparts slipping with respect toeach other. 7

At this time it will be observed that the bat 14 is mounted upon thevertically-extending'shaft portion of a crank 39, and that theoutstanding arm'of this crank is connected by a link 40 to the upper endof the sleeve 31. The lower end of this sleeve is connected by a rod 41to a ea1n 42 secured to the shaft 18, this rod acting as a follower forthe cam, so that as the shaft is rotated the rod will be oscillatedtosimultaneously move the sleeve 31, thus moving the link 40 andoscillating the bat 14 to-present different angular faces to the missileimpelled by the actuating member 13.

It is. preferred that some provision be made for returning the shaft 18under some circumstances to its initial position. To this end, a gear 43may be secured to this shaft and drive a gear 44 secured to an adjacentstub-shaft. A drum 45 is attached to this stub-shaft, and this drum andthe gear 44 carry cooperating clutch parts which are normally engagedincident to the action of a spring-pressed throw-rod 46. Link-connectedto the outer end of this throw-rod is a pawl member or actuating lever47, which is arranged in a plane at which it may cooperate with aportion of the bracket 36 or parts associated therewith, so that eachtime this bracket moves past the station of the lever or pawl47 itactuates the throw-rod 46 to release the clutch parts and permitrotation of the drum with-respect to the gear 44. Secured to the drum 45is one end of a cord or chain 48, the opposite end of which carries aweight 49, the position of which, when the parts are in their initialstations, will be immediately above the surface of the member 10 or thebase 8. 'When an operator rotates the shaft 18 the weight will be drawnupwardly, and if the shaft is released at any point in advance of thehome position of the figure 15, the parts will be returned to theirinitial position by the action of the weight. However, if the run iscompleted the bracket or parts associated therewith will cause theclutch parts of the drum-gear to be released, so that the weight returnsto its initial position; and upon further movement of the shaft 18 inthe same direction these clutch parts again engage to repeat theforegoing operation.

The plate 6 being shiftable with respect to the fixed deck-portion, themissile-receiving openings also will be shiftable. YVhile this shiftingmay occur in any desired manner, it is preferred to accomplish the sameby securing a bevel gear to the inner end of a shaft 51, which geardrives a gear 52 and a crank 53 secured thereto, the end of the latterriding within a guide 54 secured to the under face of the plate 6 and,as aconsequence, these parts will serve to oscillate thisplate withrespect to the fixed field'portion as the shaft is rotated. \Vhile theshaft ing 55, which serves'to effect one rotationof the shaft 51 as thehand wheel 20 associated with the shaft 19 isrotated twice. The shaft 51has a crank-portion 56 with which a crank 57 is connected, and,as shown,the crank is secured to a bar 58 mounted to move between guides 59; thebar carrying a trigger mechanism 60 automatically coupling and releasingthe bar from a second bar 61, also mounted within the guideways 59. Atone end of the base a. lever 62 is rockingly mounted, and the end ofthis lever is link-connected as at 63 to the bar 61, a spring 64 beinginterposed between these elements. The lever 62 isconnected by a shaft65 to a lever 66 to oscillate the latter, and this lever islink-connected as at 67 to the lower arm of a bell-crank 68, which,similarly to the crank 35, has a pin-and-slot connection 69 with thepush-rod provided by the sleeve 33. As in Fig. 6, the upper end of therod or sleeve 33 has a pin-and-slot connection 70 with an arm 71 securedto the impelling member 13 so that as the sleeve 33 is moved theimpelling member will be moved accordingly.

Thus, as the shafts 19. and 51 are rotated, the plate providing thefield will be oscillated, and the spring 64 will beperiodicallycompressed, and upon the automatic release of the trigger. mechanismthis spring will; cause the arm 13 to snap forwardly, im pelling anymissile arranged in advance of the same toward the bat14; the triggermechanism automatically coupling the bars to each other during eachcycle of operation.

In operation, the missile-delivering mechanism will be actuated by acoin-controlled member (not shown) or otherwise, in order to positionthemissile 72 upon the upper face of the deck, over which it will roll ofsecond, this actuation of -the shafts willcause the oscillation of thefield plate 6.

The operator actuating the shaft 18, by rotating his hand wheel, willoscillate first the bat 14 so that the direction of rebound of themissile may be controlled; secondly, he will cause the runner figure 15to traverse the base line, and in so doing the missilereceiving openingsof the infield and out-- field-will be uncovered during the time therunner figure is between the bases; thirdly, this operator will actuatethe mechanism by means of which the partsare returned to normal.position after an out, is accomplished.

Thus, the playing of the game depends upon skill of operation, for thereason that the actuation of the impelling member may be gauged by oneoperator to project the missile at an inopportune moment toward the bat.Furthermore, upon the rebound'ofthe missile this operator, by his skillof operation', may bring one of the o enings of the movable plate intoline with t e path of travel of the missile over the deck; Conversely,the skill of the second operator de-' termines the manner of rebound ofthe missile,and also determines whether the missile-receiving openingswill be uncovered when the missile reaches a position at which it mightpass therethrough.

In the event that the missile does pass through one of these openings,it is obviousthat it will drop into the body of the cabinet andgravitate along the surface and enter the elevating and deliveringmechanism, the entire cycle of operation being thereupon repeated. Thesame is true of a game of the structure shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Theresults aforedescribed are achieved in the mechanism of Figs. 8 and 9,as follows: The runner 15 is carried by the link of a sprocket chain 7 3mounted upon sprockets 74 to underlie the track provided by the slot 7.Secured to the. collar 23 is a gear 75 which sleeve 79.

meshes with a sprocket 7 6 having a hub, the

upper end of whiclrterminates in a sprocket- 77, the diameter of whichis slightly larger than the sprocket 76. The sprocket 77 meshes with thelinks of the chain 73 so that as the collar is rotated the figure 15moves in unison with the cam or actuating member 24:. Anextension 7 8may be carried by the link of the chain adjacent which the should cometo rest against the rear end of the sleeve 7 9 it may be shifted fromits position so thatit will gravitate to the lowest point of the fieldor deck.

In this connection it is to be noted that in the embodiment underconsideration the lowest point of the game surface is provided by aplate 81 arranged directly in ad- Vance of the missile-impelling member;this plate being hingedly mounted and link-connected as at 82 to theactuating rod 26 so that, as aforedescribed, when the latter is moved touncoverthe openings in the plate 6 the opening in advance of themissile-impelling memcllier likewise will be simultaneously exose t:With final reference to these figures it will be observed that theplunger is connected by a lever 83 to a link 84, which latter isconnected to a lever 85 normally urged rearwardly by a spring 86, theend of this lever-preferably being rounded as at 87 and extendin in thepath of travel of a cam 88 secured to the shaft 51. As a consequence, asthe latter is revolved in a clockwise direction, the lever will have itsupper end rocked forwardly against the tendency of the spring 86, andupon the cam clearing the rounded portion 87 this lever will be snappedvrearwardly, thus rapidly moving the link 84 and-projecting the plunger80 with sufficient speed to accurately impelthe missile toward the bat;

Thus, among others, the objects of this invention have beenaccomplished, and since certain changes may be made in the aboveconstruction, and different embodiments of the invention could be made,without de parting from thescope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above de-.

scription or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted asillustrative and not in a l mltlng sense.

Consequently, if the missile 72.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific featuresof the invention hereindescribed, and all statements of the scope of the invention which as amatter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A game, including a deck having its surface inclined toward a commonpoint, a missile-impelling member located adjacent such point, a missileto be disposed upon said deck, a target member movably disposed uponsaid deck and means for shifting said target member.

2. A game, including a deck having its surface inclined toward a commonpoint, a missile-impelling member located adjacent such point, and a battoward which the missile impelled by said member travels.

3. A game, including a deck having its surface inclined toward a commonpoint, a missile-impelling member located adjacent such point, and a batpresenting angular surface toward which the missile impelled by saidmember travels.

4. A game, including an inclined deck, a missile-impelling member uponsaid deck adjacent the lowermost point thereof, a bat comprising acam-shaped member arranged upon said deck and in the path of travel ofan impelled" missile, and means for shifting the bat.

5. A game, including a deck, a missileiinpelling member upon said deck,a bat arranged upon said deck and in the path of travel of an impelledmissile and presenting surfaces extending at angles to each other, andmeans for shifting said bat to present different surfaces to theimpelled missile.

6. A game, including a deck provided with missile-receiving portions, amissile to travel over said deck, and means for shifting said portionswith respect to said deck to intercept the missile.

7 A game, including a deck provided with missile-receiving openings, amissile to travel over said deck, and means for shifting areas of thedeck within which said openings are formed to intercept the missile inits travel over said deck.

8. A game, including a deck having a fixed portion'and a movableportion, the latter being formed with an opening, a missile to travelover said deck, and means for shifting the movable deck portion to bringthe opening therein to intercept the path of travel of said missilethereover.

9. A game, including a deck comprising a fixed plate and amovable plate,the latter being formed with missile-receiving portions, a missile totravel over said deck, and means for shifting the movable plate to gameto close said openings to bring the missilereceiving portions to amissile in its travel over said deck. I

10. A game, including a deck having missile-receiving portions, amissile to travel over said deck, and means operating to render saidmissile-receiving portions inoperative during certain stages ofactuation of the game.

11. A game, including a deck formed with a series of missile-receivingopenings, a missile to travel over said deck, and means acting duringcertain stages of operation of the passage of a missile therethroug 12.A game, including, in combination, a deck having missile-receivingportions, a missile-impelling member, and means for actuating saidmember to impel a missile over said deck and to bring said portions topositions at which the missile, in its travel over said deck, isintercepted.

13. A game, including, in combination, a deck having a shiftable portionformed with a missilereceiving opening, a missile-impelling member, andmeans for actuating said member to impel a missile over said deck and toshift the movable portion of the latter to bring the opening therein toa position at which it intercepts a missile inits travel over said deck.

14. A game, including, in combination, a deck over which a. missile isto move, a missile bat upon said deck, a member movable with respect tosaid deck and independent of said bat, said member representing aplayer, and common means for shifting said bat and moving said member. v

15. A game, including a deck formed with means defining a baseballdiamond, a. member movable along the base lines of said diamond andrepresenting a runner, a bat at the apex of said diamond and independentof said member, a missile to be impelled toward said bat and to reboundtherefrom, and a single means fol-shifting the position of said bat andcausing said member to move with respect to said deck.

16. A game, including, in combination, a deck comprising fixed andshiftable parts, the latter having a missile-receiving portion, a batassociated with said deck, means also associated with said deck anddefining a baseball diamond, a member movable with respect to said deckand along the base lines of said diamond and representing a runner, amember for impelling a missile toward said bat, means for actuating saidimpelling member and shifting the movable deck-portion to bringmissile-receiving portions of the latter to a point at which theyintercept a missile travelin over said deck, and means for shifting saidat and moving said member along the base lines.

prevent the 17. A game, including, in combination, a deck comprisingfixed and shiftable parts,

. the latter having a missle-receivingportion,

a bat associated with said deck, means also associated with said deckand defining a baseball diamond, a member movable with respect to saiddeck and along the base lines of said diamond and representing a runner,a member for impelling a missile toward said bat, means for actuatingsaid impelling member and shifting the movable deck-portion to bringmissile-receiving portions of the latter to a point at which theyintercept a missile traveling over said deck, mechanism for renderingthe missile-receiving portions inoperative, and means for shifting saidbat and'moving the member along the base lines and actuating saidmechanism when said member reaches certain positions.

18. A game, including a deck comprising fixed and movable portions, thelatter having a missile-receiving opening, a member for impelling amissile over said deck, a bat associated with said deck and in the pathof travel of the missile impelled by said latter'member, and said deckhaving thereon means defining a base line, a member.

shiftable along said base line, mechanism for closing the opening in themovable portion of the deck when said last-named member reaches certainpositions along said base line, means for actuating themissile-impelling member and shifting the movable deck portion to bringthe opening therein to a position at which it intercepts the missiletraveling over said deck, and means for shifting said bat and moving themember along the base line. 7

19. A game, including a deck formed with means defining a baseballdiamond, a missile-impelling member upon said deck, a bat-memberadjacent the apex of such diamond and in the path of travel of missilesimpelled by said member, said deck being formed with a shiftablemissile-receiving portion, means for controlling said bat and theshifting of such portion, and means for controlling the actuation ofsaid impelling member.

20. A game including a deck formed with an opening, a player membermovable with respect to said deck, a game simulating representation uponsaid deck, means for obstructing said opening to prevent the passage ofa missile from said deck therethrough and means for shiftingautomatically said obstructing means to inoperative position when saidmember is shifted to a point away from a predetermined area of said gamerepresentation.

21. A game of the baseball type including a deck. inclined towardsacommon point, a missile-impelling means located adjacent such point, amissile, said deck being formed -with an opening through which saidmissile passes, a bat disposed upon said deck and movable with respectto the same for projecting a missile impelled towards the same by saidmeans,. means for operating said bat and means for actuating saidimpelling means.

22. A game of the baseball type including a deck formed with openingsand having a representation of a baseball diamond, means for pitching amissile across said deck, means for batting such pitched missile, saidmissile passing from said bat towards sa d openings, means representinga runner traversing said diamond, means whereby an out may be registeredonly when said runner-representing means is disposed at a point remotefrom one ot the bases of. sa1d dlamond and means whereby an out of thebatted mis sile may be achieved and means for rendering said last-namedmeans inoperative when said runner-representing means is adjacent any ofthe base positions of said diamond.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

FRANK R. CHESTER.

